Hi folks, the 2nd Sigmund Minisode is now available as a free DLC. c: It’s similar in length as the 1st one (around 20 Minuten), but it’s a tad more. . . important, plot-wise. Still, if you haven’t played the 1st, I suggest doing that before this one (hier).

If you own a Steam or GOG copy of To the Moon, the 2nd minisode should already be auto-updated into your account/folder. (For Steam, install the DLC and get there by right clicking To the Moon from Steam library -> Properties -> Local Files tab -> Browse Local Files)

It’s currently the Windows build, but the Mac version should be coming shortly, with the Linux to follow sometimes this week (made possible by Ancurio’s porting tool, as well as Ali for the help with the Mac build).

Hope y’all enjoy it!

*Beachtetet,: Pressing F12 restarts the game, so be careful!

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I wanted to also take this opportunity to fill those who haven’t heard in on something. Jordan, a friend who’s created much of the pixel art for Freebird’s games (including the lighthouse in To the Moon), is currently hospitalized and undergoing chemotherapy — this post has more info.

Since then, Jordan’s mom quit her main job to stay with him, on top of the unexpected expenses like lodging. As I wrote in the ending credits of this minisode, it’d be wonderful if we could raise some donations for his family to help out. His mom’s Paypal is LoraB23@gmail.com

You can also send him supportive words to Jordan@freebirdgames.com

Thanks everyone!

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With this minisode finished, I’ll be going back to work on Finding Paradise (i.e. episode 2). The idea for it has actually been brewing for quite a while now, so I think I know exactly where it’s going.

While it does have ties to A Bird Story (the patient is the boy in ABS all grown up, after all), I don’t think it ties in a way that I’ve heard most folks speculate — and there won’t be any overlapping scenes from ABS in Finding Paradise. Sometimes I feel like A Bird Story was actually meant to be released after episode 2. . . but that’s just a passing thought; only time will tell.

Anyhow, take care for now, Leute — and as always, thank you for the support!

Hey guys, just a quick heads up that upon your requests, TtM Steam cards (+ profile backgrounds, badges, and emoticons) are finally up and available.

Here’re some samples – Badges:

Cards:

Profile Backgrounds:

and Emoticons:

Furthermore, Alisa Christopher, the artist who created the artworks, has now put up a couple of the artworks for sale as prints. She agreed to donate 10% of the profit to charity; and Freebird Games will be match the donations up to $1000. [The current charity of choice is ASAN -- Autistic Self Advocacy Network.]

Hallöchen Leute. I spent the past month making this Holiday Special for those who enjoyed To the Moon, and I’m happy to say that it’s finally done! Here’s a mini-sode featuring Dr. Watts & Dr. Rosalene. c:

(Also included in the Steam & GoG downloads, though you need to manually go to the folder to open it.)

The minisode is just about 20 minutes long, and is meant to be played front-to-end in a little marathon, as there is no save feature (or menus, for that matter). It takes place around the holiday season, at the local branch of Sigmund Corp where Eva & Neil are employed.

The whole thing is pretty lighthearted (including a nod to Johnny’s story from To the Moon), so don’t expect much drama. c: Although, it does touch on a notable aspect of their job that I avoided to show in To the Moon, as it would’ve distracted from the main story then.

It’s not much, but I hope you guys enjoy it! Consider it a free DLC, heheh.

If you could help spread the word to others who’d played To the Moon and let them know that this exists, it’d be much appreciated as well!

Lastly, I also wanted to take this opportunity to say something about A Bird Story.

I know it’s been repeatedly delayed, and I apologize for that. To be honest, I don’t really know when exactly it’ll be finished. . . It’s not that long of a game at all, but there are things in it that I’m just still trying to figure out. It’s also something that means a lot to me personally, and I don’t want to compromise how it turns out.

All I can say is that a lot has been done for it already, and that it will be finished when it’s ready; I will try my best. In the mean time, thank you all for your patience and understanding — I hope you enjoy the holiday special, and the occasional snippets I post on places like the forum, Twitter, & Facebook. c:

I’ve added a couple more preview tracks to the –A Bird Story– OST, however; and you can also download the new tracks from the minisode from there (kostenlos!, natürlich).

Happy New Year everyone, and thank you all for your support! I’ll try to get the Steam version patched up with the new release later today (only the English version is available for it right now, since it’s fresh out of the oven).

I didn’t know how many we should make at the time and didn’t want to be buried in unsold merchandise, so I ordered conservatively… Apparently itwasn’tenough.

The pre-order for the 2nd shipment is now open for a couple of weeks or so, so I’ll know how many should be made to have enough. Feel free to keep a lookout to my Twitter & Facebook pages for updates with it as well. It should take around 2 – 3 months for the manufacturing of this batch to complete.

A couple of other things:

1. The upcoming game, A Bird Story, has expanded in its scope a bit since the last time. I think it’s been falling into place, and I’m finally comfortably happy with how it’s coming along. . . but there’s still a lot of work to do. Here’s another track for the OST preview from a few weeks ago for those who missed it: Startseite

It’s still being released sometimes this year, but at the moment it’s still difficult to say when exactly since I don’t want to rush it. Right now, I’m thinking perhaps around the time of the year when To the Moon was released back then. c: When things are more finalized, I’ll make an update post on that then.

2. Steam Summer Sale’s on for less than a week left! Obwohl To the Moon isn’t going to be on any flash sales this time ’round, I made sure to give it a bigger discount than usual for the entire duration.

That’s it for now — I’ll keep you guys updated when something new comes up. Cheers folks, and thanks for the support as always!

If you’ve purchased the game from this website before, you can redeem your Steam code by emailing (with your order ID #):

reives.freebird<at>gmail<dot>com

I’ll need to manually send them out one by one (and am still waiting on the codes from Valve, though they should be ready within a couple of days), so please be patient. c:

It’s been quite a journey, and I am so thankful for all the kind support everyone has given. This was my first commercial project, and there’s still such a long way to go and lots to learn; but I feel so fortunate to have a chance at making what I love to do what I live to do — and that is all thanks to you folks. Thank you for giving me that opportunity; I know how rare of a privilege that is, and I promise to stay true in making and sharing what genuinely means a lot to me, and hopefully to you too.

There’s a lot more planned for the future, including the second episode of To the Moon’s series (featuring Dr. Watts & Rosalene and a new patient), as well as a short game set in the same universe before that. I’m looking forward to announcing these projects, but for now, here’s a preview to one of the songs: http://www.freebirdgames.com/sounds/fpc_3.mp3

TO THE MOON

Kapitel 1

Knock, knock.

No one answered.

It was windy atop of the cliff. Especially so, considering it hanged just above the ocean. The sun has long set; a chilly air stream has started to rush in, colliding with the quaint little house that stood near the edge of its suspended platform.

At its door were two white-coated figures. They weren’t wearing uniforms — it just so happened that they wore the exact same white overcoats on that very awkward workday. The one in the front raised her arm again, brushing the badge that read “Dr. Eva Rosalene” resting against her chest.

Knock, knock.

It was barely audible from the outside through the crashing waves a hundred feet below, but someone must’ve heard it this time. The faint piano music from inside the house ceased, and a call was heard.

“Ma, they’re here!”

It was the voice of a child, and that bothered Dr. Rosalene. Not because she disliked children, but because she knew that there also happened to be a dying man inside.

In fact, it has been a while since she knocked on the door of a house that didn’t have a dying man inside. Three weeks, to be exact. Three weeks ago, it was a dying woman.

She never came to save them.

“We should wear cloaks and carry scyths,” her colleague often joked. At least she hoped it was a joke.

And on this particular occasion, this co-worker happened to be standing right next to her, carrying the equipments that made their jobs possible. His name was Neil Watts. Or, as he prefered it: Dr. Watts. It gave the ring of a mad scientist or a super villain, only neither mad nor super, and not even remotely witty.

He sneezed and pushed up his glasses.

Dr. Watts liked his glasses. More specifically, he liked how they shielded his eyes from the curious glances of nosy strangers. When the clerks from the glasses shop offered him anti-reflexive coatings for his lens, he raised an eyebrow and marked them crazy.

“How much would it cost to add an extra-reflexive coating?” he had answered in a matter-of-fact tone. In the end, he walked out happily wearing a pair of one-way mirrors. They were heavier than usual and slipped down quite often, but they were worth it.

He pushed up his glasses again.

“Not a bad place to retire at, huh?” Dr. Rosalene remarked, tapping her feet. Not that she genuinely felt like having a conversation; it was just a nice relief to hear something apart from the monotonous on-goings of the crashing waves and whistling wind.

“I could do better.” Dr. Watts gave a quick glance and shrugged. “Nightshifts: love ‘em or hate ‘em?”

“You know the answer, you stupid owl.” She knocked on the door again impatiently. The chill was starting to settle in by now; she stepped closer to the house, shielding herself from the wind with its walls.

“It’s probably going to be an all-nighter, y’know.”

“I know.” She scowled. He was teasing her and she knew it. If he does it one more time, she told herself, she was going to tell him to shut up.

The wind continued to howl, and the door they waited on remained unbudged. If there were any aproaching footsteps to be heard, they would’ve been drowned out by the loud roars and clashes from the tides down below.

“. . . And I doubt they’d have any coffee–”

“Shut up.”

She began tapping her foot again as she briefly eyed the light leaking out of the second-floor windows.

“. . . And the ocean will sing lullabies. . .”

“Not through your blathering they won’t.”

Just then, there was a flash of shadow beneath the doorframe. They turned as the door clicked from inside and opened, pouring out a warm spectrum of light. A woman and two young children stood at its door way.

“Dr. Rosalene und Dr. Watts, I presume?”

“. . . I didn’t pay for this name tag to be presumed.” Dr. Watts muttered under his breath.